Angel's Cemetery
by brittany89
Summary: When Martin is reacquainted with his first love, will he choose his current love or go back to old habits?


I normally don't post here anymore but since I've actually been getting a lot of views and stuff I'd thought I'd post my lastest. Enjoy!

**--Prologue--**

_-August of 1992-_

It's a young and immature love sparked by the divulgence of their mutual dreams. To most, their love is the mere excitement of having reciprocated feelings of compassion. To them, however, their love is epic and transcending. It survives everything and surpasses all problems. It is not pure attraction; it is the tenderness they share, the warmth they desire, the love they cherish. For him, she provides something in his life that his family cannot provide. She shows him opportunities to step out from his shell and explore the world his parents refuse to let him interact with. For her, he provides a constant in her life. He is her rock. She is comfortable around him. He provides safety. As long as she's with him, she's at home.

Their story began fourteen months ago when she and her friend, Matt, decided that the empty streets of Seattle is a better haven than the unloving environment they each grew up in. Her mother turned to alcohol and drugs as her companion. Her mother loved the mind altering substances more than her two daughters. Her relationship with her sister never formed. It was more like they were roommates. She is unsure why, but it is what it is. That's why she ran away. She needed love and comfort that her family was not able to provide. There was nothing to keep her with her drunken mother and irresponsible sister. That's why she ran.

She's known Matt for years. They are good friends and nothing more. Matt ran from his abusive stepfather and negligent mother. He is a few years younger than she is but is, in most ways, more mature than she is. She knows the ways of the street. Matt knows how to manipulate perfect strangers into getting what they need. Together, they make a great team, surviving off of each other.

After only a few weeks of living on the streets of Seattle, Matt found a rebellious girlfriend named Jenny who has spent most of her life in and out of foster care and juvenile hall. The three runaways found the strength in each other to survive the mean streets until an unlikely addition joined.

She met him when she separated from Matt and Jenny. She needed some time to herself; however, she found that her stomach rumbled and churned for food. She, eventually, found herself staring with a watery mouth as citizens of Seattle dined at Seattle's finest burger restaurant. When an elderly couple left their table, she crept to their half eaten plates and stuffed the savory French fries in her mouth, ignoring disapproving looks from strangers occupying the tables around her. She didn't know it but one of the strangers stood in the corner with a small smile on his face, watching her with healthy curiosity. He offered her his left over food and his phone number.

His father is a workaholic. He is loved by his family, but he feels he cannot turn to them. His mother is a helicopter hovering over his every move. He needed the opportunity to rebel and she gave that to him.

She will turn sixteen in three months. He turned eighteen three months ago. They've been dating for about thirteen and a half months, each other's firsts. At first, he lied to his parents telling them that he met her at school. He made up an elaborate past for her to tell his parents. Eventually, his parents figured it out. They forbid him to see her, but he kept bringing her around. They fell in love, making their bond inseparable. His parents learned to like and tolerate her especially with the occurrence of his proposal. The only fact about their wedding, however, is that there will be one.

--

He taps his leg impatiently. He stands in front of an abandoned hotel. Once bursting with laughter and happiness, the hotel is now a dilapidated building with broken windows and abandoned furniture scattered throughout the lobby. Accented with cob webs and spiders, the hotel is covered with dust an inch thick. This old building is the symbol of their love.

He wraps his arms around himself, trying to obtain warmth. He looks to his right and to his left looking for his love strolling down the street. She finally turns the corner. She seems to be distracted by the full moon and clear sky.

When she catches his smile, even in the dark, she runs towards him and places her hands on his cheeks, bringing his lips to hers. They can't get enough of each other.

"You got out," she states in between kisses, thankful he was able to meet her urgent call.

"Yeah," he says, "being eighteen has its perks." He smiles at her with love.

She rests her forehead on his. "So does being parentless," she smiles. She stares deep in his eyes. She can see his happiness.

He can see her sadness.

He gently grabs her hands and holds them to his chest. He knows something is wrong. He doesn't say anything though. He looks at her and takes in every facial feature of hers. Everything is the exact same. He never misses a single aspect of her beautiful face.

She takes a deep breath before she begins. "I came to say good bye." She looks away. She cannot bear to look at him.

His face contorts into horror. What is she talking about? He is confused and immediately demands an explanation. His heart is already twisting in his chest.

"I talked to my sister," she responds. "My mother—" she chokes. She cannot get it out. "My sister said that mom died." She dares to look at him but quickly looks away. "I have to go," she says softly.

Martin wrinkles his forehead. "You talked to your sister? You never told me that you were going to do that."

"I got up the nerve," she says. "Turns out just in time. She overdosed on those damned pills." Her body is shaking. She is clearly distraught.

Martin grits his teeth. She lets go of her hands and begins to pace. "I'm sorry about your mother," he says, "but are you trying to tell me that I'm never going to see you again?" He knows her too well.

"No," she says quickly. "I just don't know when I'll see you again."

His bottom lip quivers. He hurriedly steps up to her and seeks her lips kissing her passionately. A tear escapes his eyes as he pulls apart. He isn't going to convince her otherwise. He is not that kind of man. Though her mother was more like a rebellious best friend, he knows that she loves her. He understands completely. "I want you to call me when you get there."

Tears cascade down her face too. She cannot bear to part with him for one night. She needs him. "I will," she says. She finds his lips again. Her bottom lip quivers and her throat hurts from trying to hide the crying she desperately wants to do.

"What about Matt and Jenny?" he says. He wraps his arms around her waist. She rests her ear on his chest. This is hard and sudden. Knowing that he will see her again keeps him sane. Or it would if something tells him that she's coming back. It's why she's more upset than he would think she should be. She has an unspoken meaning in her words. He understands that this departure might be permanent; so does she.

She kisses him once more. "Matt and Jenny are having problems. Matt wants a break from her, so he's coming with me." She caresses his cheek before turning her back on him and slowly walks away. She is crying uncontrollably now. When she reaches the corner, she stops and turns around. Peeking from behind the corner, she stares at his shadowy figure. He is staring down the street where she disappeared. "Good bye, Martin," she says sadly.

She looks up at the hotel's blinking sign. It tries to light up but the relentless pounding of the light bulb's unwillingness to cooperate causes the sign to flicker off and on. Now the sign is lit illuminating the dark sky only a few inches around it. She continues to stare at it. There are plenty of good memories that happened underneath this sign. Their first kiss happened here. His proposal happened here.

Finally, the sign reading _Angel's Cemetery Hotel_ flickers off for good, announcing the end of their cherished companionship. Their love, however, will always remain.


End file.
